


Draco Malfoy and the Quest for Power

by Marie2180



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternative Perspective, F/M, Friendship, Hogwarts, Hogwarts First Year
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2018-05-14
Packaged: 2019-01-30 00:01:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12641964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marie2180/pseuds/Marie2180
Summary: It's Draco's first year at Hogwarts and he has been instructed to make "powerful" friends for the changing times. In addition to this, Lucius wants his son to assist in getting a certain student expelled. This is the first in a series of fanfics exploring Draco's time at Hogwarts and what makes him the character we all know and love. Draco x OC END GAME





	1. The Hogwarts Express

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so excited to start posting this! I have always been interested in exploring Draco's perspective of the Hogwarts years. I hope to give him a little humanity while still dealing with a great deal of his character flaws.

A loud tangle of voices filled the air of King's Cross Station the morning of September 1st as muggles, witches, and wizards filled the platforms. Draco pushed his cart, looking all around him to soak everything in. It was easy to pick out the other magical folk as they pushed their textbooks, owls, and belongings along toward platform 9 ¾. The muggles didn't seem to notice as they continued to go about their normal day. He chuckled at their complete oblivion which to him seemed almost archaic. Draco's amusement was interrupted by his father's sharp voice behind him.

"Look at this trash," he commented to his wife. "I swear, I don't know why this bloody school doesn't choose a more civilized way to get these kids to the Castle each fall. I told you, Narcissa, Durmstrang would have been a much more fitting choice for our son."

Draco shut his father's arguments out as he had many times throughout the summer. He knew how it would go. Hogwarts wasn't good enough for  _his_ son.  _His_ son deserved the best and neither that school nor its headmaster could give that to him. Durmstrang was a much more fitting school for a Malfoy, and he would be given the  _best_ education.

Draco also knew his mother's response to that argument. Both she and her husband had attended Hogwarts and had turned out just fine. Plus, Durmstrang was much too far away, and she would miss her little dragon too much.

Neither parent had bothered asking Draco what he wanted. Each assumed that their son agreed with their point of view-which was what they did most of the time. If either Narcissa or Lucius would have thought to ask Draco what he wanted, they would find an opinion much different than their own. Draco had no desire to attend the Durmstrang Institute. He agreed with his father that Durmstrang would provide more suitable classmates for one such as himself. He also agreed with his mother that it was much too far away. Draco wasn't considered about the distance from his doting mother, however, as much as the distance from his best friend Theodore Nott.

As Draco approached the entrance to platform 9 ¾, he turned to see his parents still arguing about the value of Draco's education. When they realized that they had arrived, they stopped and turned to their son.

"Well, Draco, this is where we leave you. We'll see you again at Christmas. Send an owl immediately if you have any problems with  _that_ school."

Draco watched as his mother rolled her eyes at her husband.

"Aren't you going to see me off?" Draco asked.    

Lucius seemed rather agitated by the question.

"Son, I have places I have to be after this and I would rather not deal with the filth that we already had to encounter at Diagon Alley. You're responsible enough to see yourself onto the train and remember this year, Draco- Malfoy's make  _powerful_ friends."

Draco nodded his head in understanding at his father. Lucius had already spoken to him about the possibility of the Potter boy attending Hogwarts this year. It was this boy that Lucius meant when he mentioned _powerful_ friends. _We have yet to see how his story will play out,_ his father had told him. _But a powerful wizard he will be nonetheless._

“I know, fath—“

“This year is going to be particularly important for you, son.” His father interrupted. “Things will be changing within the next year or two, and we need to be sure to keep our allies close and our enemies within our sights.”

“Yes, sir,” Draco muttered. His father had been talking about these “changing” times quite frequently, although he never went into more detail than that. The only other clues that things were different was the revolving door of “allies” coming and going from the Malfoy Manor. Lucius had recruited several of his old acquaintances to search for objects of “great importance”—whatever that meant. Draco was just happy that it meant more time with his best friend, as Mr. Nott was over quite a bit and brought his children along with him.

Draco looked then to his mother. In his mother's eyes, he saw something entirely different then the agitation that filled his father. Tears threatened to spill onto her cheeks as she wrapped her arms around her son.

"I'm only an owl away, my dragon. If you need anything-ANYTHING- you just tell me, ok?"

Draco felt an unwelcome ache in the pit of his stomach as he realized that he wouldn't see his mother again until Christmas break. He squeezed her back a little tighter than usual, not even caring enough to be embarrassed to be seen clinging to his mom.

Behind them, Lucius cleared his throat, and the two broke apart. Draco saw that the embarrassment he usually felt when his mother tried to express her affection publicly had been transferred to his father.

"Come, Narcissa," his father said curtly. "Son, we will see you at Christmas."

Narcissa obediently pulled away from her son and went to stand with her husband. Both parents waved and then turned to return home.

Draco watched them recede back into the throng of people until they disappeared. He then realized that he was standing alone in the midst of a crowded station and needed to get moving. Turning to the brick wall beside him, Draco tightened his grip on his cart and took a deep breath in. He didn't breathe back out until he had passed through the magical barrier onto platform 9 ¾.

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

All sadness about leaving his parents behind vanished as the atmosphere of the station immediately changed. Young witches and wizards rushed to and fro, greeting friends and gathering their luggage. Steam bellowed from the train, and parents said their teary goodbyes. Draco stood transfixed as he drank it all in. He jumped as a slap on his back woke him from his reverie.

"Draco!" a familiar voice shouted. When he turned he was face to face with none other than Theodore Nott. Theodore's short black hair was styled impeccably as always, sweeping slightly up and to the side. Draco noticed his friend had grown yet another inch or two since the last time they had seen each other, which made him look even skinnier than usual. Behind his friend stood Mr. Nott and Theodore's younger sister; her hair was just as dark and straight, but she was obviously not blessed with her brother's height.

"Hey, Theo. Where's all your stuff?" Draco asked when he saw that his friend didn't have a cart like his full of luggage.

"Already on the train. I was just saying my goodbyes and then I was going to come looking for you."

Both Theodore and Draco made their way over to the small Nott family, one less since Mrs. Nott's death several years ago. Mr. Nott greeted Draco kindly enough and inquired after his father. Their conversation steered towards Draco's family until Theo's sister interrupted suddenly.

"Daddy, can I please just step onto the train and see what it looks like?"

From the way that Mr. Nott looked down at his second child, Draco could tell this had been the subject of argument all day.

"Harper, I told you no," his tone was harsh and Draco could see tears starting to form in Harper's eyes. She brushed them away when she saw Draco looking at her.

Theodore went to his sister then and bent down to level himself with her. Even though there was only a year difference between the two, she was much smaller than him.

"Hey," he said as she tried to turn away from him. "I'll be back for Christmas before you know it. Next year this will be you, and you can sit with me and Draco all the way to Hogwarts. Isn't that right, Draco?"

"Yeah. That is if you won't be too intimidated to hang out with the coolest second years on the train," he teased. He was happy to see that his response had brought a smile to Harper's face.

Just then the train whistle blew and all of the students who were not already on board started rushing in the same direction.

"Get going boys," Mr. Nott said. "We'll see you at Christmas, Theodore."

"Bye dad. Bye Harper!" Theo called over his shoulder as he and Draco made their way to the train.

………………………………………………………………………………………......

Once aboard, the two boys made their way to the compartment where Theodore had already placed his luggage. Draco hoisted his bags to the storage ledge above them and sat beside his friend.

"Harper seemed pretty upset to see you go," Draco said once they felt the train began to lurch.

"Yea, I think it's going to be pretty hard on her," he responded. "It's just going to be her and dad…" Theo stopped there but Draco could see a look of worry pass over his friend's features. He knew that, like his own father, Mr. Nott could be demanding and strict. They were both former death eaters. Mr. Nott, however, had been much harder on his children since the death of his wife five years earlier. Draco had the sinking suspicion that their home had become much more violent since their mother's passing.

"She can't wait to come with me next year," Theo continued. "But I think she's worried she won't be placed in Slytherin, and you know how dad would feel about that."

Draco was shocked. He couldn't even imagine not being placed in Slytherin. It was almost a given. Except for the occasional bad apple on his mother's side, everyone on both sides of his family tree had been sorted into Slytherin. He knew the same was true for Nott's family. Draco had been raised to assume that's where he would be placed as well.

"Why does she think that?" Draco asked.

"We heard dad talking to our uncle a few weeks ago about it. They're afraid she'll be sorted Ravenclaw. You know Harper, she's curious about everything. Just last month she was in the backyard taking notes on the nesting patterns of garden gnomes."

Draco did know Harper, almost as well as he knew Theodore. The Notts had been close to the Malfoy family as long as Draco could remember. Because of Mrs. Nott's death, both Theodore and Harper had spent countless hours at Malfoy Manor under the supervision of Mrs. Malfoy while their father's met and talked about who knows what. Draco considered the Nott children to be the closest things to siblings that he ever had.

"I don't think there’s anything to worry about," Draco said, trying to take Theo's mind off his worries about his little sister. "My dad says that all great witches and wizards are sorted Slytherin. Just because she's smart doesn't mean she'll be sorted Ravenclaw. She's a Nott for Merlin's sake."

Draco's reassurance seemed to lighten Theo's mood, as did the trolley that arrived minutes later loaded with chocolate frogs and licorice wands. As they ate their fill, Crabbe and Goyle entered the compartment, probably-Draco thought- lured in by the smell of sweets.

Both of the boys who had just arrived considered themselves Draco's friends. Draco considered them more like his lackeys. Theo was someone he enjoyed hanging out with, someone that compared to him in both interests and smarts. Crabbe and Goyle were pretty dull to say the least, but they came in handy when they were  _needed._

_"_ Did you hear who's on the train?" Goyle asked Draco and Theodore. When both boys shook their heads he continued. "Harry Freaking Potter. Word is he's further up in the train with some dirty ginger boy. Wanna go see if he really has a scar on his face?"

"I'm good," Theo responded. "I don't care to gawk over some scar head."

Draco was about to agree with Theo until he thought about what his father had told him earlier in the day.  _Malfoy's make powerful friends_. His father would expect him to at least introduce himself.

"Sure," Draco finally decided. "Theo, we'll be back."

 “When you get back tell me how big it is. I bet it covers his whole face," he said sarcastically.

Draco rolled his eyes and jokingly flipped his best friend off as he followed Crabbe and Goyle out of the compartment and through the train.

The boys got to the compartment that Potter was rumored to be in and walked right in without knocking. Draco immediately recognized the boy he had met at Madame Malkin's robe shop early in the summer.

"Is it true? They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"

When the familiar boy confirmed that he was indeed the Boy that Lived, Draco introduced himself, Crabbe, and Goyle and extended his hand. When the red headed boy beside Harry let out a snigger, Draco looked over at him and wrinkled his nose in disgust. He was obviously a Weasley. Draco's father knew them from work. Apparently they reproduced like rabbits and couldn't afford anything past food to feed their litter. From the look of the boy’s dingy clothes, this was true.

"You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better that others," Draco explained to Harry. He realized that if the rumors were true Harry hadn't had much contact with the wizarding world throughout his life, so Draco wanted to help him the best he could. "You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."

To Draco's surprise, Harry returned his offer with a look of surprise and disgust.

"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself," Harry responded. It was obvious that he was talking about Draco when he referred to  _the wrong sort._

Draco felt the hairs on his neck bristle in anger. He couldn't believe this  _boy_ had just insulted him. The tension in the room rose as both parties prepared to defend their honor.

Draco laughed as Potter and the Weasley boy tried to make themselves look threatening. Both were skinny and didn't look like they had been in a fight in all their lives. He on the other hand had thrown a punch or two and even though he was just as small as them he had Crabbe and Goyle on either side of him. Stupid but  _powerful_ friends, just like his father had instructed him to make.

"You're going to fight us, are you," Draco taunted.

"Unless you get out now," Potter responded. The boy’s voice wavered with obvious fear. Crabbe and Goyle sneered back at him menacingly- that was until they caught sight of the candy sitting in the bench behind the two boys.

As Draco's two giant bodyguards lurched forward to take the treats, Goyle let out a booming yell. When Draco looked over at him, he saw the large boy flinging his hand through the air. Attached to it was a mangy grey rat. Its front teeth sank deep into the flesh of Goyle's finger. With one final shake of his arm, Goyle was able to detach the rat from his appendage.

Like two frightened animals, Crabbe and Goyle ran from the compartment back the way they had come. Draco didn't want to leave the confrontation that had been started but didn't fancy the odds now that he was left on his own. He was out the door and headed back to his compartment before Potter and Weasley could say another word.

 


	2. The Sorting Hat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco arrives at Hogwarts and is sorted into the infamous Slytherin House.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading! The first few chapters follow the story we know pretty closely and will be fairly short, but VERY SOON you will see Draco's story start to develop and the HP timeline will be very much in the background. Please let me know what you think! Your reviews help give me the drive to find time to write!
> 
> Happy Reading!

By the time the first year students had left the train, crossed the lake by boat, and had been filed into an empty chamber by a witch named Professor McGonagall, Draco had gotten very tired of hearing the story of the two foot rat that had almost gnawed off Goyle's hand. The boy was telling anyone who would listen and the story became more unbelievable with each retelling.

"Glad I decided not to go," Theodore said to Draco as Goyle recreated his heroic fight with the rodent to a very large girl beside him. "Sounds like it was a very dangerous mission."

"Goyle would like you to believe that, wouldn't he," Draco replied, rolling his eyes. "You didn't miss much. Potter turned out to be a complete prat. Merlin's beard, I hope he doesn't get sorted Slytherin."

"Why do you care, Malfoy? You're most likely going to be put in Hufflepuff anyways."

Draco punched his friend in the arm jokingly, which propelled Theodore into a pair of twins standing a few inches away. The girls squealed as Theo bumped into them- at first angry but giggling quietly once they had a good look at him. A stern look from the witch waiting with them told both boys to knock it off. They both tried unsuccessfully to stifle their laughter as she began her explanation.

"Now, form a line," McGonagall ordered, "and follow me."

All of the first years struggled to create a straight line, some pushing other students slightly to stand by the few people they knew. Theodore filed in behind Draco, followed closely by Crabbe and Goyle.

As Professor McGonagall pushed open the massive double doors that led into the Great Hall, Draco was surprised to find himself among the students gasping in astonishment at the room around them. Four long tables stretched the length of the room with house colors decorating them. He recognized the emerald green of Slytherin adorning one of the tables to his right. He also saw crimsons, yellows, and blues. Each table was filled almost to capacity with students of differing ages, all facing the incoming first years. Running along the front of the room was a table reserved for what looked like school staff. An old, silver-haired man, who Draco knew as Albus Dumbledore from his chocolate frog cards, sat in the center. Above him, the stars in the sky twinkled, adding another source of light to the room that was lit by torches and candles.

Draco watched as Professor McGonagall placed a torn wizard's hat on a stool in front of the room. While many of the first years looked at the hat with confusion or fear, Draco only felt excitement. His father had prepared him for this. He had told him that it would be this hat that determined his rightful place in the Slytherin house. As the hat sang its song he felt pride as it sang of Slytherin, where he was sure to make his "real friends, those cunning folk who use any means to achieve their ends." When the song ended, students were called forward to place the hat on their heads and reveal their destinies at the school.

The first student to be accepted into Slytherin was the broad girl that Goyle had been talking to earlier in the night, Millicent Bulstrode. Crabbe and Goyle followed soon after and went to join her at the table. When Draco's name was finally called, he approached the stool with the confidence of a Malfoy. He knew where he belonged and so, apparently, did the sorting hat. Before Professor McGonagall could even place the hat completely on Draco's head, it shouted  _Slytherin!,_ and cheers erupted from the house's table. A feeling of pride engulfed Draco as he made his way towards his peers.

An older boy patted him on the back as he passed, heading towards Crabbe and Goyle.

It wasn't long after his own name had been called, that Draco welcomed his best friend and slid over to offer the seat beside him. Theodore had a huge grin across his face.

"We did it," Draco said excitedly.

"Yeah," Theo replied. "I can't believe it. I thought for sure that dirty old hat was going to put you in Hufflepuff, and I was going to have to make a new best friend. Nobody must have told it what a tosser you are."

The nearby Slytherins erupted into laughter, including Draco. The table continued their loud, sarcastic banter until a sudden hush fell over the Great Hall. Harry Potter's name had just been called by McGonagall, and he was slowly making his way toward the hat. Whispers filled the air. Even the Slytherins were watching intently. The sorting hat was placed over the boy's head and not a minute later it was shouting its decision.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Cheers erupted across the room at the Gryffindor table. A few redheaded boys stood to welcome him, including the Weasley that he was riding the train with. Draco's eyes remained on the Boy Who Lived, but his ears were focused on the whispered discussions coming from behind him.

"Gryffindor?"

"Really? But I thought?"

Apparently he and his father hadn't been the only ones to assume that the Dark Lord had to have been defeated by a powerful  _dark_  wizard, and not one that would be accepted into Gryffindor.

"Believe me," he said turning to his fellow housemates. "We don't want him. He is a complete arse and hangs out with filth and blood traitors. We can do much better."

Draco watched the rest of the sorting in a foul mood, though he couldn't figure out why. Why should he care if the famous Harry Potter wasn't who he imagined him to be? It wasn't long until one lone student stood waiting to be called.

"Zabini, Blaise," Professor McGonagall called.

A tall black student walked confidently to the stool. When the sorting hat was placed on the boy's head it took a few moments before it announced  _Slytherin_  to the room. Blaise took the hat from his head and walked towards the table where Theodore and Draco sat. Theo slid over to make room for this final student and shook hands with him, introducing both himself and Draco.

Shortly after introductions were made Dumbledore stood from his seat along the front table and made his way to the podium. With a flick of his wrist, he filled each of the four long tables with more food than Draco had ever seen. Hundreds of hungry hands grabbed at roast chicken, boiled potatoes, and Yorkshire pudding among other things. As the students around him ate, they slowly got to know one another, swapping names and stories all throughout dinner. Before long everyone started to slow, and Draco felt drowsy from the effects of all of the food that he had eaten.

"That was the best meal I have  _ever_  had," Zabini said beside him leaning back and animatedly bringing his hands to his stomach.

Both Draco and Theo agreed wholeheartedly. Crabbe and Goyle continued to stuff their faces with pudding.

As dinner ended, prefects from each table began to stand. A tall Slytherin who introduced himself as Eric Murley called for his table's attention and asked for the students to follow him. Draco rose with the rest of his house and followed Eric out of the Great Hall and down a corridor which led to a set of ever shifting stairs. Draco gawked at ancient paintings of famous and not so famous witches and wizards that lined the walls. Once Eric had led them out of earshot of the groups of other houses, he started explaining where they were going. The new Slytherin students devoted their attention to him as they followed him lower and lower through the school. Each level becoming progressively darker.

"The Slytherin common room is six levels down from the Great Hall. You'll take the stairs that we just descended until you arrive at the dungeons." Eric said the word  _dungeons_  just as he led the students down one last flight of stairs and around the corner to a place that Draco could assume was exactly that- the dungeons. "You will want to go straight to the common room. Many Slytherins have thought that it is a good idea to go exploring down here. If you were thinking this, think again."

"Well, damn," Draco mumbled sarcastically under his breath to Blaise and Theo. "That was exactly what I had planned to do-explore a smelly old dungeon."

The boys chucked, and Eric shot them a dirty look as he continued.

"Filch has been known to lurk around the dungeons at different parts of the day. If he catches you sneaking around, he  _will_  give you detention and he  _will_  deduct points from Slytherin. I don't need any first years losing us points for a reason as stupid as playing around where they shouldn't be. It would be a good idea for you to keep this in mind if you want us to win the house cup for the seventh year in a row."

Eric led the first years around another corner and stopped in front of a solid stone wall. The only reason that this portion of the wall stood out was that two torches hung from it. They were spaced just far enough apart to fit a door between them-a door that didn't exist.

"Merlin's blood," Eric recited.

Where the brick wall had just been, a door appeared. Eric opened it and motioned for the first years to enter. The first thing that Draco noticed was the green tint that lay over everything. At first he assumed that the glow was coming from the emerald lamps that hung from the stone walls, but then he noticed that on either side of the giant fireplace directly in front of them were large windows. This seemed impossible at first as they were many stories under the ground, but as he looked closer he could see fish swimming through murky green water.

"This is the main area common room. Outside the windows you will see that a portion of your living quarters is under the lake. Occasionally you can see the giant squid swimming by," Eric said, sounding a lot like a tour guide. "Down a set of stairs to your left you will find the boys dormitories. Girls are then down the set of stairs on your right. Your luggage has already been delivered to your rooms by the house elves. You are free to go unpack your things now."

Once Eric finished his explanation, boys and girls split off and went to their respective dormitories. Draco was happy to see that his things were already at the bed next to Theodore's, Zabini’s to the other side. Without even touching his things, Draco threw himself back onto his bed, his hands behind his head, and let out a content sigh. This was home now and it already felt right.


	3. Double Potions

After almost a week of classes, Draco was starting to feel as though he had found a second home at Hogwarts. He and Theo got along well with almost everyone in their house and had formed a quick friendship with Blaise Zabini. The boys had finally gotten used to all the moving staircases and disappearing doors and most of their classes were at least interesting. As they sat at breakfast on Friday morning, the three friends looked forward to their day of double potions.

 

As they munched away on their breakfast, the call of owls echoed through the Great Hall, and a multitude of birds descended on them. Draco’s large grey owl extended its foot for him to untie the bulky sweets box from its leg. Crabbe and Goyle eyed Draco across the table as he opened it to find that his mother had sent all of his favorites, treacle fudge and a pint of No-melt Ice Cream among the lot.

 

“You’re going to share some of that, right?” Blaise half-joked, pointing to the sugared butterfly wings. “And if not you better hide it from Crabbe and Goyle. They’re already sniffing it out.”

 

“Fat chance I give them any,” Draco laughed. He tossed Blaise a butterfly wing and unfolded the letter that accompanied his sweet box. He frowned as he saw the fine, slanted script of his father’s writing.

 

Draco,

 

I would be lying if I said that I was a bit shocked by your report of the Potter boy being a friend of traitors and mudbloods. He would have been a powerful ally to have if he were different. I think it would be in our best interest if he happened to be “turned away” from the school by the end of term.

 

Lucius Malfoy

 

Draco paused at the words “turned away” and then read back over the letter again. What the hell was that supposed to mean? Did his father want Potter expelled? If he knew his father, he would say that was exactly what he wanted, and he was sure that Lucius expected him to make that happen. He shook his head in disgust. He didn’t care for stupid Scar-head Potter either, but he was more interested in making friends and passing his classes than following him around, trying to get him in trouble.

 

Draco’s first instinct was to refuse, but he knew that doing so would cause far more headaches than just getting the job done. He moved to fold up the letter and place it into his bag when it bust into a small flame and smoldered quickly onto the table.

 

“Holy shit,” Blaise gasped. “Everyone’s getting interesting mail today.”

 

Draco swore and cursed his father as he wiped the soot from his hands. He looked over to his friends and noticed that Theo had disappeared. Only Blaise was left sitting beside him.

 

“Where did Theo go?” he asked.

 

“Hell if I know,” Blaise replied, taking a bite out of his toast and continuing with his mouth full. “He got a letter as well. He crumpled it up as soon as he read through it and stormed off. Didn’t look happy at all.”

 

Draco checked the massive clock on the far end of the Great Hall and realized that they didn’t have time to worry about where Theo went at the moment. Double potions started with the Gryffindors in 10 minutes. 

 

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

 

_Draco remembered one of the first times that he met Severus Snape. He had been a boy of 7, sulking after a heated argument with his father. On a family outing to Diagon Alley, he had been caught playing with a blood traitor’s son outside of Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlor. He had no idea that what he was doing was considered wrong. The boy was well dressed and fun. He had suggested a game of tag while their parents were inside getting them treats. It was not until his father exited the shop and he saw the anger boiling beneath the surface of his features that Draco realized that he had done something terribly wrong._

_He had dishonored the family name—again.  Draco’s cheek had been bruised as a direct result as soon as the trio had arrived home. He sat in the shadows of the giant oak tree on the lawn of the manor, tears stinging his eyes when the massive front door slammed and brought him back to the present._

_A man dressed all in black exited the house. He had a large hooked nose and shoulder length, greasy hair. Like most of his father’s friends, he did not look kind._

_Draco hurried to wipe the remaining tears from his eyes as the tall man approached him. The man stood beside the tree looking off into the distance across the Malfoy’s expansive property, avoiding eye contact with the small boy._

_“Those who cannot control their emotions and allow themselves to be provoked easily stand no chance against those that would seek to defeat them,” the man said._

_Before Draco, could even think to respond, the man had left his side. Walking off the property and past the extensive wards that had been placed around his family’s manor to disapperate to wherever he had come from._

_…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………._

When Draco and Blaise arrived at potions, the memory was still fresh in Draco’s mind. That had been the first time that he had met Severus Snape but it wouldn’t be the last. Each time Snape visited the Manor, he made a point to seek out the young Malfoy, almost as if checking up on him. Draco was proud that he had taken Snape’s words to heart. After the incident with the ice cream shop, Draco had sworn to shed no more tears. He would not be seen as weak by those around him, especially his father.  

 

As the boys looked around the classroom for a place to sit, they noticed an obvious divide. The Gryfindors stuck to the left side of the room while the Slytherins controlled the right. Theo was still nowhere to be seen.  

 

“Oil and Water,” Blaise said as they observed the room. “—the Slytherins being the Oil that rises to the top, separating itself from the water below.”

 

Draco chuckled. He rather liked Blaise’s comparison and smirked as they found a seat in the back close to a group of pretty Slytherin girls, Pansy Parkinson being among them. The girls giggled as the boys sat behind them.

 

“Hey Draco,” Pansy said, obviously trying to sound cooler than she felt. “I heard flying lessons are supposed to start next week. I also heard you are pretty good with your broomstick.”

 

Her friends’ giggles grew and Pansy’s ears reddened, but she kept her eyes locked on Draco’s.

 

“If first years were allowed their brooms, I could take you on a ride,” Draco responded coolly. “My father has been talking about upgrading my Comet 260 to a Nimbus 2000 next summer. It’s supposed to be one of the best racing brooms on the market.”

 

Draco noticed at this point all of the girls were looking at him with interested so he continued. “This past summer, I took my comet all the way to Winchester and back. Almost got hit by a muggle helly-copter on the wa—“

 

“Now, now Draco,” Theo’s voice drawled as appeared behind the group and set his bag on the desk next to his friends. “Last time I heard this story it was a muggle kite, now it’s a helly-copter? Your stories are starting to get as bad as Crabbe and Goyle’s.”

 

The girls at the desk in front of them giggled again and Daphne Greengrass batted her long eyelashes at Theo in an obvious cry for attention. Draco rolled his eyes at his friend, annoyed as his inconvenient return.

 

“Welcome back, Theodore,” Draco hissed.

 

“Don’t worry Draco,” Theo laughed. “These girls know how good you are on your broom, and if they don’t they soon will.” He threw a wink in their direction and sat down just as Professor Snape entered the room.

 

Snape’s mere presence silenced the excited chatter of the students on both sides of the room, however the feeling of that silence differed among the students. The Slytherins sat in awe of the power that radiated off of a man like Professor Snape, while some of the Gryfindors looked terrified.

 

Professor Snape immediately started reading down the class roster and took a long pause when reading Harry Potter’s name.

 

“Ah, yes,” he said. “Harry Potter. Our new— _celebrity_.”

 

Theo and Draco stifled laughter that this statement. Unfortunately, Theo’s turned into more of a snort. Pansy and her friends started to giggle and Snape’s head snapped in their direction. Instead of addressing the laughter, he went on to explain the beauty of potion making and what it entailed. His speech gave Draco and Theo time to collect themselves. They hadn’t been collected very long, however, when Snape started drilling Potter with questions. The combination of the look on his face and the near seizure that his bushy-haired friend was having from NOT being able to answer the questions was too much for the pair to take. Before they knew it they were laughing again.

 

“For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren’t you all copying that down?”

 

Every single person in the class started rummaging in their bags for their quills and parchment, including the three Slytherin boys in the back. Clearly, Snape was not messing around.

 

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

 

Half-way into their second block of potions for the day Snape had them mixing up a cure for boils. The students had all been asked to find a partner to work on the potion with. They had until the end of the block to complete the task.

 

At first, the boys were unsure of who would be left out of the group. Draco obviously wanted to work with Theo, but didn’t want Blaise to be left to find a partner on his own. Theo eventually bowed out to work with Daphne Greengrass, although from the looks of things he didn’t mind at all.

 

“Did you see the look on Potter’s face when Snape asked him all those questions? He had no idea what was going on,” Blaise laughed. “Saint Potter isn’t as amazing as everyone makes him out to be. From the looks of it, I’m surprised he got his letter at all.”

 

Draco peered over to see Potter and Weasley adding far too much eye of newt before the potion was even starting to bubble.

 

“He’s obviously not as powerful as everyone would like to think,” Draco scoffed. He thought back to his mail from this morning and wished that Potter’s letter had never come. Then he wouldn’t have to worry about his father’s “request”.

 

Just then, a high squeal filled the room and students started jumping up onto their desks. It didn’t take everyone long to realized that the squeals were coming from none other than Neville Longbottom, an idiot boy who looked as though his front teeth had been the victim of an engorgement spell. He screamed in pain as his potion seeped into his skin, causing boils to appear all over him.

 

Snape rushed over angrily cleaning the mess up with a wave of his wand.

 

“Take him to the hospital wing,” he roared at Neville’s partner. “You—Potter—why didn’t you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he would make you look good if he got it wrong did you?!”

 

As Snape berated Potter for the second time in just a few short hours, Draco watched as Theo helped Daphne down from her position on the desk. She looked distraught as Theo set her on the ground.

 

“That was terrible! He could have given us all boils!” she complained aloud. “What was he thinking?”

 

“I don’t think that one does much thinking,” Draco responded. “And from what I see, Potter thinks he’s going to benefit from his classmates stupidity.”

 

After Potions that afternoon, the Slytherin student’s couldn’t stop talking about how awful Harry Potter was. The combination of Snape and Draco’s comments had started almost a mob-like hatred of the boy. If Draco was completely honest with himself, it aggravated him. He really would much rather prefer that they not talk about Potter at all. However, this new hatred of the boy could serve his purposes well if he needed to be expelled by the end of the year.

 

“So, Daphne Greengrass?” Blaise teased, as the boys descended into the dungeons. You were looking pretty cozy with her by the end of class, Theo. What’s up with that?”

 

Theo reddened slightly, but tried to play it off. He shrugged. “She’s hot.”

 

Blaise snorted with laughter. “She’s hot? Seriously Theo. That’s all you have to say?”

 

Blaise and Draco teased their friend all the way to the common room about his new found crush. It wasn’t until they passed the bulletin board on the wall that their faces fell.

 

“Shit,” Draco muttered under his breathe. “Another fucking class with the Gryffindors.”

 

All three boys read the notice pinned to the board.

 

                1st Year Flying Lessons Start Next Friday Afternoon

                1-3 PM: Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff

                3-5 PM: Slytherin and Gryfindor

                All 1st year students MUST use school issued broomsticks

 

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Blaise moaned. “We are never going to learn anything with the Gryffindors sliding off the ends of their brooms all class.”

 

Draco nodded in agreement, but really he was just dreading having another class with Harry Fucking Potter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! The next chapter is the last one that sticks so closely to the original story. Let me know your thoughts :)


	4. Flying Lessons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco finds he perfect way to get Potter expelled during their first flying match.

Friday was a perfect day for flying. The early afternoon sun peered curiously out behind white, fluffy clouds. There was a gentle breeze, but it wasn't strong enough to affect flying conditions. Draco and his friends walked toward the large clearing where the broomsticks were laid out in two neat lines.

"Look at the state of these things," Blaise complained loudly, as the boys drew nearer. "They have to be at least as old as Merlin!"

"I don't even care, mate," Theo replied, his pace quickening. "I feel like I haven't been on a broom in ages."

"They are ancient... but Merlin have I been wanting to fly for ages." Draco said with a boyish smile on this lips. He joined Theo at the line of broomsticks and picked one up in his hands. He could almost feel the excitement radiating through his fingertips and into the broom as it started to hum slightly. Draco was just about to hop on and go for a quick spin when he saw more people approaching.

A healthy mix of both Slytherin and Gryffindor students were arriving from one end of the field and a severe looking women with cropped grey hair from the other.

"Jumping the gun a little don't you think, boys?" The women said as she approached. Draco looked to either side of him and saw that his two friends also had broomsticks in their hands. "I'm sure you are just as excited as every other student to show off your flying skills, but that will have to wait until class officially starts."

Blaise and Theo must have felt the authority in her voice just as Draco did because all three Slytherin boys uncharacteristically obeyed without objection.

They watched as once again the class divided itself without a word. It was funny how the Gryffindors already seemed to know their place in their combined classes. Separate from Slyterhin who wanted nothing to do with them. Blaise stifled a laugh as Potter and his lackeys lined up amongst their classmates. The bushy-haired brat looking almost petrified staring down at her broom.

"Potter and his girlfriend are going to make absolute fools of themselves," he said, chuckling. "They act like they've never seen one before in their life."

"They probably haven't you idiot," Draco grumbled, annoyed that once again the topic of conversation had turned to the Potter boy and his stooges. "Granger isn't even a real witch and rumor is Potter lived with a bunch of Muggles his whole life, probably why he's such a mudblood lover—"

"Welcome to your first day of flying lessons," the commanding voice of their professor interrupted the boys' conversation. "My name is Madam Hooch, and I will be your instructor for this term."

She started to circle the two lines of students as she looked them up and down, almost as if searching for the talent that lay hidden among them.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone by a broom. Stick out your right and say 'UP'!"

All at once the field erupted as students shouted the command. Draco was pleased as he felt the broom hit the palm of his hand immediately. His two friends beside him in the exact position, standing proudly with brooms in their hands.

Snorts of laughter resonated through the Slytherin line as they watched the struggle on the other side.

The Granger girl stomped her feet in frustration as her broom acted like a stubborn dog, rolling over repeatedly in the grass with no regard to its master's commands. Longbottoms's on the other hand remained still as the grave and a quaver rose in his voice.

"I think Longbottom's going to cry," Draco said, pointing to the boy who had just earlier that week erupted in boils during their first potions lesson.

"I can already tell that he is going to be quite the source of entertainment," replied Theo.

And he wasn't wrong, seconds after Madam Hooch instructed them to kick off the ground and hover slightly in the air, the Longbottom boy was in their air and rising higher and higher. She shouted for him to come back but it was clear to all those watching that he couldn't even if he wanted to.

"That fat lump better not look down," Theo said. His hand shielded his eyes from the afternoon sun as he watched the frightened boy grow smaller as he went. "Oh. Wait. Yep, never mind. He looked."

And with that there was a loud screech, a sudden thud, and a long moan. The minute the boy hit the ground, the Gryffindors crowded around him in a circle. Despite their worried expressions, it was clear that the incident surprised none of them. Madam Hooch pushed through the crowed to attend to the injured student. Seconds later she emerged from the circle of students with Longbottom stuck to her side.

"None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch.'"

When Madam Hooch was out of earshot, the Slytherin class couldn't hold their laughter in much longer. The chuckles started and couldn't be stopped.

"Did you see his face, the great lump?" Draco said turning to Theo. "Thankfully he had enough fluff to cushion his fall."

"If he hadn't, Hooch would be cleaning up splattered Longbottom instead of taking him to the hospital wing," Blaise said, joining in.

It was then that Draco saw a sparkling ball filled with grey smoke laying on the lawn not far from the group of students. He recognized it as the Remembrall that Longbottom had gotten this morning.

Draco sauntered over to the small clear ball and turned it over in his hands then tossed it up and catching it again with ease. He was just about to toss it to Theo when Potter's voice issued a command from behind him.

"Give that here, Malfoy," Potter demanded, a slight tremor in this voice.

Draco chuckled humorously.

"Just for that, why don't I put it somewhere for Longbottom to find?" He grabbed for the handle of his broom and looked at the shocked faces of the Gryffindors with delight.

Before he know it, he was 20 feet above his classmates, a Rememberall in his tight grip. At first, Draco wasn't even sure he knew exactly what he was doing, but then the words of his father's letter came back into his mind.

_I think it would be in our best interested if he happened to be "turned away" from the school by the end of term._

It was then that Draco understood that this was his chance to get Potter expelled. As he watched the Gryffindor throw a leg over his broom, Draco realized that this could play out several ways.

The first was that Potter could have no idea how to fly the broom in the first place. He could fall back to the castle grounds from high above and be too injured to continue the school year. As the dark haired boy rose confidently to reach Draco's height, however, it was obvious that flying itself wasn't going to be a problem.

The second scenario was that Potter could be caught by the severe Madam Hooch when she got back, sent straight to the headmaster's office, and expelled just as he father wanted. For that to happen, however, Draco knew that he would have to keep Potter in the air long enough for the professor to get all the way back from the hospital wing. He could do that.

"What's wrong, Potter," Draco jeered. "Daddy didn't teach you how to ride a broomstick?"

The Slytherins below cheered at Draco's taunts and he could feel the power associated with the loyalty and approval of his classmates spread through his chest. It was this approval that made him want to show off just a little bit more.

As Draco took off full speed toward the castle, however, that feeling was replaced by uncertainty as he saw the extent of Potter's flying skills.

_What the bloody Hell,_ he thought as he picked up speed. Potter's command of a broomstick was not something that he anticipated.

Draco sped towards the castle and just as he was about to collide with it made a sharp angled turn upwards, seeming to climb the stone wall. He could feel the wind rushing past him, and he smiled smugly, looking back at Potter who had slowed slightly to avoid crashing into a bloody mess.

"Maybe if you had Longbottom's Rememberall you would have remembered that you were better off on the ground with the muggle-born scum that make up the majority of your house, Potter," Malfoy sneered.

Potter growled angrily at Draco and charged him suddenly, easily maneuvering his broom to gain his lost distance.

Caught off guard, Draco barely had time to swerve out of the way. Now it was the Gryffindors who were cheering below. Anger bubbled in Draco's chest then.

He looked below prepared to hurtle a stream of curses to the clapping students below him. That's when he saw Theodore looking towards the castle with a look of worry on his face. His was the only face not turned to the sky. The only student who realized that Madam Hooch was exiting the castle.

From the looks of things, she hadn't realized that two of her first year students were currently engaged in the same behavior she had prohibited. Draco realized then that there was a third outcome to this plan.

The third scenario was that they would both be caught off the ground. They would both be sent to the headmaster's office. They would both be expelled.

Well, they would both be threatened with expulsion. Draco had his father. As a member of Hogwarts Board of Governors and a person of high influence at the ministry, it was unlikely that Lucius would allow his son to be expelled. Potter on the other hand had nothing. No parents, no connections, no real knowledge of the wizarding world in which he found himself a part of.

However, Draco did not wish to disappoint his father. Despite the fact that he wasn't fond of his father's ridiculous request, he did oddly desire to make his father see that he was someone to be proud of, that he wasn't just a mess up that played with muggleborns in the streets or shrunk away every time his father's more "sinister" comrades came around the house.

It was then that the idea struck him. He drew his arm back and chucked the Rememberall as far as he could. It hurtled toward the castle straight towards the top of the tower that Madam Hooch was exiting.

Potter would have to make a decision. Let his porky friend's possession crash into a thousand shards and avoid the eyes of their professor or save the Rememberall and be caught in the act of flying.

It was obvious even before Potter's broom zoomed towards the building which he would choose. Draco knew his type. Heroic. Show off. Always doing things for the good of others. An easy way to lose sight of who you truly were, according to this father.

As Potter raced in the direction of his imminent expulsion, Draco quickly lowered back to the ground and went to rejoin the Slytherin students as if nothing had ever happened.

"What the hell were you thinking," Theo hissed as Draco's feet touched down on the lawn beside him. "You could have gotten expelled if you had stayed up there any longer."

"Chill out, mate," Draco responded cooly. "All part of the plan."

Theo rolled his eyes. Draco had filled him in on Lucius's request earlier in the week once the common room had cleared out for the night. While Theo agreed with his best friend that the idea to get Potter expelled was mental, he also knew what it was like to have a father that expected certain things from a son- more importantly- an only heir to the family name.

"Well, all I ask is that you don't get expelled in the process," Theo said, an edge of concern in his voice. He nodded over to Crabbe and Goyle standing nearby. "I don't fancy being left alone in this place with the likes of these idiots."

Draco laughed as he looked over at the two boys to their left. One was clearly eating a very messy chocolate treat out of the pocket of his robes, while the other sniffed the air in search of the chocolatey smell.

"Having powerful families means that we are above those petty worries," Draco replied confidently. "Now if only we could find some powerful allies as well."

It was then that they heard the sharp trill of Professor McGonagall across the lawn.

"HARRY POTTER!"

The boys looked over to the far side of the lawn. The Gyffindors had made their way over to where Potter had landed as both McGonagall and Hooch approached. Other than the shriek of Potter's name, Draco and Theodore couldn't hear the conversation that was being had. They could, however, clearly see the look of distress on all their faces. McGonagall took Potter by the arm and pulled him quickly inside the castle. Before the door shut behind them, Draco saw Potter glare back towards the lawn in his direction.

"Mission complete," Draco said under his breath. A triumphant smile on spread across his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for my little absence :) The story will start to become more original with the next chapter!


	5. Flint's Proposition

The Great Hall was especially loud the evening following flying lessons. The Slytherin table has teaming with excitement as Draco retold the story of getting Potter expelled for the fourth time that day. Pansy Parkinson leaned in as he got to the part where he threw the Rememberall straight towards the castle. 

“How long do you think he has to get his things together before they boot him out,” Pansy questioned, scooting even closer to Draco on the bench seat. 

Draco’s pulse quickened at her proximity and he could feel the tops of his ears reddening slightly. He tried to play it off coolly. “I’d say he has until tomorrow morning, maybe the end of the weekend at most.”

Theodore leaned in from the other side. “The way Draco threw that Remeberall, I’d say Marcus Flint will be approaching him within the same amount of time to join the Slytherin Quidditch team. Did you see how well he flew? He’d be a great chaser.”

Draco looked over at Theodore with a look of confusion on his face. There was no way Flint would pick a first year for the team and he knew it. But when he looked at Theodore to his left he was given a sly wink at the same time he felt Pansy’s fingers on his arm to the right. 

“Oh, Draco! I could totally believe it! Wait till Flint hears about today.”

Draco’s ears burned and he knew that by now it would be obvious that he was blushing, the rise in color hard to hide on his fair skin. Pansy didn’t seem to mind as she cooed over him for the rest of dinner. Draco made a mental note to thank Theo later.

xxxxx

Dinner had finally wrapped up, and Pansy had reluctantly unwrapped herself from Draco’s arm where she had stayed for most of dinner. Draco couldn’t believe how much attention this afternoon’s stunt had afforded him among his peers, especially with the girls in his year. 

Pansy pouted as she and her friends got up to leave the table once the food had cleared. She was off to the library with friends to study for a History of Magic exam that they had early next week. 

“I’ll see you later, ok?” Pansy called, as her friends pulled her away. 

“Yeah, absolutely!” Draco responded eagerly. He felt a punch in his side almost as soon as the girls pulled away. 

“Don’t sound so needy,” Theo teased. “Merlin, you do one noteworthy thing and girls can’t keep their hands off of you.”

Draco felt a cheesy grin spread over his face which his friend couldn’t help but replicate. 

“But seriously, mate, now that the Potter problem is dealt with, what’s the next step?”

Draco thought for a moment, as he grabbed his school bag from under the bench seat and threw it over his shoulder. The two boys made their way down the aisle between tables as they spoke. 

“I say we go rub our victory in Potter’s face and go get freshened up. Pansy and Daphne will be back from the library in a few hours. Maybe they’ll be up for a little snogging.”

Theodore rolled his eyes. “You’ve never kissed a girl in your life. Well except for your mother. Don’t act like you’re just going to wrap Parkinson up in your arms and carry her off to your bed.”

Draco scoffed. “Please don’t act like your one time make out session with Nina Murton at my family’s Christmas party means you have ANY experience. She was hideous. Anyways, one of the third years said that the trophy room is always unlocked. That might be nice and private for a good snog.”

Theo was just about to give a retort when the boys realized that they were walking past the Gryffindor table. Potter and his friends were just finishing up as well when Draco stopped to drop his last insult before he, hopefully, never saw the boy again.

“Having your last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?”

“You’re a lot braver now that you have your friend by your side,” Potter said, clearly feigning indifference. 

“I’d take you any time on my own,” said Draco “Tomorrow night if you want. Wizards duel. Wands only- no contact. What’s the matter? Never heard of a wizards duel, I suppose.”

It was then that the Weasel spoke up angrily. 

“Of course he has! I’m his second. Who’s yours?”

“Theo, of course,” Draco responded, nodding to his friend. “Midnight all right? We’ll meet you in the trophy room.”

xxxxx

“What the bloody hell was that about,” Theodore demanded as they left the Great Hall. “The job is done, mate. You did what your father wanted!”

“I’m not so sure things are playing out how we thought they were going to,” Draco said with a sneer. “Those Gryffindors looked much too happy before we approached to be lamenting the departure of Saint Potter, and I’m not telling father anything until Potter is gone for sure.”

“So what does fighting him in the trophy room have to do with getting him out of here?”

“I’m working on it,” Draco replied thoughtfully. “Maybe we can make it look like he and Weasel attacked us, or get the room thoroughly destroyed and lock them in it. The professors will think they did it.”

“I don’t know.” Theodore seemed skeptical of the plan and with good reason. “None of these seem very fool proof. Maybe we just wait to see if he’s gone Monday morning.”

“I can’t. Father will be on me until I make this happen, so I have to make sure it’s a done deal.”

Theo stopped arguing then as he always did when Lucius was brought up. Theo and Draco had been friends long enough to know that what father wanted, father got no matter which one they were talking about. 

“Ok. Fine. But you owe me.”

By the time they got back to the common room, most of the couches had been taken, so Theo got his set of Wizards Chess and laid it out in front of the hearth on the floor. They were both too wound up from the day’s events, so studying was out. Theodore was determined to beat Draco for once and Draco was determined not to let that happen. Both completely invested in the game in front of them, they were startled when a pair of black heavy boots appeared beside their game board. 

Draco and Theodore looked up in unison to see Marcus Flint standing above them with a wicked smile on his face. The sixth year boy was head of the Slytherin quidditch team. Draco had already established the belief that this position of power was the only reason any of his peers actually liked him. Flint was rotten to the core and mercilessly cruel. Even his fellow Slytherins shied away from dealing with him if they didn’t have to. The rest of the quidditch team were the only people that associated with him willingly. 

Draco’s heart leapt as he remembered the words Theodore had said to Pansy earlier that evening at the dining table about Flint offering him a spot on the team. From the incredulous look on Theo’s face, he was thinking the same thing. 

“Nott. Malfoy.” Flint greeted with a broad smile that showed each of his protruding teeth. “Walk with me if you would.”

The two boys eyed each other nervously and then stood, completely neglecting the game of Wizard’s Chess they had started. They followed Flint over to an emerald couch that seemed to have been cleared just for him. His arms stretched out on either side of him arrogantly. Draco and Theodore tried to act as superior as the older boy, but as they sat across from him on an identical sofa their confidence faltered.

“A few times a semester some of the Slytherins like to meet in the dungeons to participate in what we like to consider a modified wizard’s duel. Winner takes a cut of the bets; it's usually a couple dozen galleons.”

Draco and Theo looked from Flint to each other at the same time with wide eyes. It must have looked rather comical because Flint chuckled to himself. 

“You don’t have much of a chance of winning at this point, but I’m in charge of recruiting first years each term. If you participate and pay attention, you could be raking in some serious bank by your 5th or 6th year. What do you think?”

“Why us?” Draco asked. He tried to make his voice sound a bit more confident than he felt. “You haven’t even seen us perform more than a few spells in the past two weeks.”

“Let’s just say that some family names hold more promise than others.” Flint left his answer at that but Draco knew what he meant. Almost all Slytherins were purebloods, but not all of their fathers had the dark mark etched into the undersides of their arms.

“When and where is this happening,” Theo asked, breaking through Draco’s thoughts. 

“Tomorrow night is our first meeting. Nothing huge. We just like to get a feel of who we’ve got so we can plan brackets accordingly. If you're up for trying it out, be in dungeon 518 tomorrow night at 11:30. I obviously shouldn’t have to tell you to keep it quiet. Eric has a ten foot stick up his ass about anyone being in the dungeons where they shouldn’t be. You nark, and we’ve got problems.”

xxxxx

Draco and Theodore didn’t get a chance to discuss the proposition that Marcus had made to them that night. As soon as they had been left alone to talk it over, the girls had returned from their library study session. 

It was obvious that they had made some pact to travel as a group the rest of the night because although Draco and Theo had plenty of time to talk to Pansy and Daphne they did not leave their gaggle of girlfriends for more than a few seconds at a time. The furthest either of them got was a passing bump of a knee or an accidental touch of a hand. 

By the next afternoon in transfiguration, the boys had still not had a chance to discuss whether or not they were going to meet in dungeon 518 that night. As Draco was once again practicing changing his textbook into a small cauldron, he noticed Theodore nonchalantly pass a scrap of parchment sideways towards him. Draco looked cautiously up at McGonagall and saw that she was engaged in helping a Hufflepuff change a goblet back into her toad. Only then did he grab the note and read.

What do you think of Flints offer?

Draco grabbed his quill and scratched back a response before sliding it back to Theo.

I think we go for it. Marcus Flint is one of the ruling upperclassmen. Make friends with him and we’ll have it made. 

When Theodore read the note. He shook his head before answering.

What about your duel with Potter tonight?? Potter we can take, but other D.E. kids? 

I’ll worry about Potter. This opportunity is bigger. Powerful friends, Theo. Plus we’ve been wizard dueling each other since we were five. Stop being a pansy. 

True but what did he mean by ‘modified’ wizards duel??

Before Draco could respond, he noticed McGonagall walking towards their row, eyes bent on the note sitting between the two boys. Draco noticed this too and quickly grabbed his wand and muttered an incantation to wipe any traces of their conversation before the old witch could get to it.

A deep frown crept across the professor’s lips as she realized that she had gotten to the table too late.

“Is there a problem over here boys?” She asked, clearly referring to the note passing that was going on. 

Both boys feigned ignorance and shook their heads.

“Obviously not. Just practicing for the exam.” Draco’s voice dripped with arrogance, thinking that they had not been caught. 

“If that is so, Mr. Malfoy, you might consider transforming the notes you are passing into something a bit more productive.” 

McGonagall flicked her wand at the blank note now sitting between the two boys and it transformed itself into a blue detention form. Across the top was written Draco Malfoy and Theodore Nott. The boys groaned in unison.

“Mr. Filch will be expecting the both of you tonight at 10 pm sharp.”

Xxxxx

“Shit, man,” Theodore complained as they left transfiguration and headed to the Great Hall for dinner. “Why do you always have to be a complete prick all the time?”

“This is not my fault! You were the one that started passing the note in the first place.”

“Yeah,” Theo conceded. “But sometimes you’ve gotta sweet talk your way with the ladies and get yourself out of things. Your tone was asking for her to throw us in detention.”

“She was being a bitch,” Draco argued. 

Theodore rolled his eyes, clearly done trying to make his point. 

“Well, I guess we are going to have to tell Marcus that we can’t come tonight. Detention isn’t out until midnight. He’s going to be pissed.” Theo looked nervous at just the thought of angering Marcus. “I think you should tell him. You are the reason we can’t go.”

“Ok, I will,” Draco said confidently. “And not because this is my fault, but because I’m not a pussy.”

Draco walked off toward the Slytherin table with Theodore following close behind. At the far end, sat the entire Slytherin quidditch team. Marcus was in the middle of them all. When he saw Draco and Theo approaching, he rose from his seat and met them halfway, effectively distancing himself from the prying ears of his teammates. 

“We still expect you to be there after midnight,” he said after Draco finished explaining the situation. “The duels usually go late, and we want to see what everyone can do before the first official match.”

The boys stood in shocked silence at his statement. It was a few seconds before Draco spoke up. 

“Yeah… Ok. We’ll be there as soon as we can. We’ll only be two floors above that for detention anyways so we can get there really fast.”

Theodore agreed with Draco and Marcus nodded. As the two boys turned to find a place at the table to eat, they heard the older boy call after them, singling Draco out in his comment. 

“You’ll find, Malfoy, that you’re going to do many things over the course of your life that people will tell you are wrong. The trick is not to get caught. If you’re going to be a real Slytherin, you better learn that pretty damn quick.”

xxxxx

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think thus far! I love writing this, but it's always hard to keep going unless I know someone else is enjoying it too! I have some extra time coming up and would love to expand on this one more.


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